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Month: November 2016

The state-of-the-art platform from VMEdu is disrupting the Learning Management System (LMS) market. As part of the VMEdu Authorized Content Partner (V.A.C.P.) program, VMEdu is allowing anyone to create and host their courses with zero upfront investment and no requirement for technical expertise. Not just that—it provides content experts with the option of hosting their courses on their own website and provides them with their own high quality mobile app too.

Following are some of the key benefits of the VMEdu Authorized Content Partner (V.A.C.P.) Program:

1. Best Student Experience – Online, Mobile and Classes: VMEdu Cloud Learning Management System (LMS) is, by far, one of the best adult learning platforms globally. It has been built over a period of 7 years, with several millions of dollars of investment – and tested thoroughly by launching multiple courses and websites, which have now become global leaders in their fields. Using the VMEdu LMS allows V.A.C.P.s to offer their courses on their own websites – either online or through their mobile apps. VMEdu also supports physical classroom training options for some high-demand courses. Moreover, VMEdu’s strong back–end capabilities helps its partners easily manage their relationships and training requirements with VMEdu Inc. VMEdu LMS is hosted in a very scalable cloud infrastructure; and already hosts hundreds of courses, with more than 50,000 learning resources including videos, questions, case studies, simulated exams, flashcards, study guides etc. Anyone can join for free and launch their free course in few minutes/hours on their own website.

2. Zero Setup and Maintenance costs – No technical knowledge or infrastructure required: Unlike on other traditional LMS platforms, one does not have to pay any licensing fees, buy expensive hardware, or hire expensive software professionals to launch their online courses and mobile apps. There is no cost associated with creating or uploading the courses. Unlike traditional LMS platforms which usually have negligible support for mobile apps, VMEdu creates the best-in-the-industry mobile apps at zero-cost for Android Phones (if more than 1 hour of video courses uploaded) and $ 250 for IPhone. One can save more than 90% of your current LMS expenses by using VMEdu LMS – and also have significantly more capabilities than those offered by traditional LMS platforms.

3. Additional Revenues – Courses can be sold to VMEdu partner network of 750+ V.A.T.P.s: Courses created by V.A.C.P.s can be made available and sold through VMEdu’s fast-growing partner network of 750+ Authorized Training Partners (A.T.P.s) in 50+ countries. This makes their course available to a huge network of companies, colleges, universities, training companies, and individual trainers/experts. No other traditional LMS platform helps content providers with customer acquisition.

4. Leader in Global Education: VMEdu is a global leader in adult education through its multiple brands and partner eco-system. VMEdu has taught more than 500,000 students from 150 countries and 3,500+ companies; and have a huge A.T.P. partner network of 750+partners in 50+ countries. It is funded by Sequoia Capital which is the leading Private Equity/Venture Capital firm in the Silicon Valley – and has funded innovative global companies such as Apple, Google, Cisco, LinkedIn, Oracle, WhatsApp, etc.

Three years after Facebook purchased the immensely popular photo-sharing social network Instagram, it was officially opened up to all advertisers in the summer of 2015. This was a highly-anticipated and long-awaited social media channel for marketers, because let’s face it, with more than 400 million users per month, Instagram is quite the catch. And although it’s still very young and not everyone has tested the image-centric waters, recent feedback suggests it’s going swimmingly.

As of October, two months following the API launch, Nanigans, a company at the vanguard of advertising technology for in-house marketing, reported that 31 percent of all advertisers using their company’s ad automation software were spending marketing dollars on Instagram.

With user engagement second only to Facebook, Instagram is considered by Nanigans and other digital marketers as a necessary component of any social media marketing strategy, but some changes may be required. As marketers move in to the unique Instagram environment, adaptations may be necessary to the existing look and function of ads.

Instagram currently offers three options for advertisements; photo, video and carousel, and they’ve done a nice job explaining what they offer and how they can help businesses on their information page … https://business.instagram.com/advertising/

With Instagram advertising in mind, some things to consider are…

1.It’s a visual medium, so bring the goods, or go home. Gorgeous images, interesting videos, highly polished or insanely cool, Instagram is the marketing channel where creativity can and should run wild and where special attention should be given to the aesthetics of the advertisement.

2. Tiny URLs, not just for Twitter anymore. Unfortunately, Google analytics does not track traffic generated from Instagram. Create customized short links in order to track the flow of traffic being driven by the Instagram ad. Bit.ly is a great resource for customizing a short link that can then be tracked.

3.Hop on and share the ride. Improve exposure through sponsored posts on peer feeds. Posting sponsored content on an Instagram account that is relevant and shares a similar demographic can yield wide exposure. This can also be done by including trending hashtags with Instagram ads/posts. The Instagram explore feature allows users to easily search for trending hashtags, so you can serve up biggie-sized exposure by simply adding a trending hashtag to an ad/post. According to Richard Lazazzera, content strategist at Shopify and founder of A Better Lemonade Stand, Instagram is currently the cheapest CPM (cost per thousand impressions) of any ad platform, so it’s worth participating and sharing.

4. And finally (and as always), bring them into the funnel. Once an ad has managed to capture attention and perhaps even a “follow”, it’s time to consider the next step in bringing a customer deeper into the marketing funnel. One of the best (and easiest) ways to accomplish this is to ask for an email address. Whether it’s a newsletter or additional relevant content a company is offering, opportunities for snagging an email address can create marketing success. A direct contact, such as an email address, allows for direct communication, which can be more personal and meaningful for both the customer and company.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has increased its oversight of native advertising online and on smartphones. The most recent company running afoul of this intensified supervision is Lord & Taylor, who just settled with the governmental body over charges that “it deceived consumers through paid article in an online fashion magazine and paid Instagram posts,” according to the FTC.

Part of Lord & Taylor’s problem were efforts to produce and publish native advertising. “Native advertising is a form of online advertising that blends in with its surroundings,” according to DigitalMarketing, book two of the SMstudy® Guide. The FTC’s charges identified activities among which were “a seemingly objective article in the online publication Nylon and a NylonInstagram post, without disclosing that the posts actually were paid promotions for the company’s 2015 Design Lab clothing collection.” Here was an attempt to blend in with the surrounding content that seems to have blended in all too well.

“While native advertising can be perceived as annoying, it can also be an effective tool if properly used,” asserts the SMstudy® Guide, and the FTC is addressing both points: annoying and proper. What is the proper use of native advertising? The FTC’s actions against Lord & Taylor has resulted in an agreement between the two entities that is open to comment until April 14, 2016. This means the public can become part of defining what is proper.

While that discussion is going on, another facet of technology-driven changes in advertising will definitely become part of the dialogue: using the smartphone. “Unlike traditional marketing in public spaces–such as billboards, magazines, and television–the smartphone is a highly personal space for the consumer and requires an entirely different engagement model,” says Christina Desmarais in an opinion piece for Inc. magazine online.

With personal engagement comes personal offense. The reaction of the consumer becomes less “Do you really think that little of your customers?” and more “What type of girl do you think I am!”

Those who wish to use native advertising will need to develop a keen sensibility as marketing becomes more personal and the natives become more restless.

For more interesting information and articles about Sales and Marketing visit SM study.

The agreement will be subject to public comment for 30 days, beginning today and continuing through April 14, 2016, after which the Commission will decide whether to make the proposed consent order final. Interested parties can submit comments electronically by following the instructions in the “Invitation To Comment” part of the “Supplementary Information” section.

“It is important for us to note that the fact that we are in the twenty-first century does not make all the earlier avenues of sales and marketing obsolete.” – Marketing Strategy, Book one of the SMstudy®Guide.

Online marketing is where it’s at, right? The benefits are numerous and have been noted extensively in reports and articles galore by marketing professionals and others who’ve taken the time to track the data and offer the proof. Online marketing is definitely where it’s at. Or, is it?

Today, many companies and brands opt for a fragmented new-age marketing strategy, one based primarily on a digital, multi-channel approach that includeds all available avenues via the Internet, such as websites and social media, and tools and devices, such as smartphones, tablets, computers, and so on. But in all the excitement of new technologies and the myriad of new ways to reach people with our marketing messages, SMstudy reminds us that “rather than viewing these changes as completely replacing earlier practices, sales and marketing approaches should be viewed as a continuum where recent innovations can co-exist with earlier practices.”

In other words, online marketing might not be the only game in town. Some old-school methods might, in fact, be cooler (and more appropriate) than you think. Take snail mail, for example.

Direct mail, which seemed to have gone the way of paper news and landline phones, is now seeing a revival. The most commonly cited reason is the personal factor. In an age where we receive a slew of emails every day, to receive a piece of paper mail with our name on it (as opposed to “current resident”) seems positively Downton Abbey. We’re loving the nostalgia of it and it’s standing out in our consciousness, because unlike email, paper mail is rare nowadays. Craig Simpson, direct mail marketing professional, emphasizes the personal touch of direct mail.

“It makes it seem like someone put some extra effort into what they sent as opposed to just quickly shooting off another email,” Simpson said.

Simpson goes on to point out the additional benefit of being able to “spruce up physical mail in ways that you just can’t achieve with email.”

Other noted plusses for direct mail include the ability to precisely target market segments and the fact that compared to email, physical mail has a greater likelihood of being opened.

Direct mail is also a flexible channel with a variety of options. Postcards, flyers, publications and free samples are all on the table when considering direct mail.

SMstudy states, “It is a fact that people now spend more time on the Internet using devices than they spend through conventional mass media, such as television, radio, or newspaper.” So, it is logical to focus many marketing efforts online.

However, if physical paper mail is best in reaching a company’s audience and in turn reaching the company’s goals, marketers should not be afraid to pull out an “oldie but a goodie” from the continuum of sales and marketing.